Recently a couple of us here at Dogwood went out on an investigation of the wood pellet manufacturing facilities in North Carolina. All of the facilities are owned and operated by Enviva and exist for the sole purpose of producing wood pellets to feed the market in Europe, particularly the UK-based utility company Drax.
Soaring demand for woody fuel has led to the construction of more than two dozen pellet factories in the Southeast and special port. European officials promote the trade as part of the fight against climate change. But that claim is increasingly coming under challenge.
Recent science shows that many forms of biomass — especially from forests — produce higher carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels. In particular, a growing body of peer-reviewed, scientific studies shows that burning wood from whole trees in power plants to produce electricity can increase carbon emissions relative to fossil fuels for many decades — anywhere from 35 to 100 years.
The unnatural engineered traits of these GE trees would lead to unknown and potentially destructive impacts on soils, fungi, insects, wildlife, songbirds, and public health. Help us say no more to this unacceptable practice.
just 15 months after our first delegation to Europe, our second trip across the pond proves that our message got through. Today, decision makers are clear that the use of our forests for fuel is an area of big concern. We no longer need to debate whether it is just waste wood or residuals; they all understand that the wood pellet industry and utilities are using whole trees.
